Crimson Ribbon
by reader17
Summary: A piece of crimson red ribbon, a link of a lifetime. [On Hiatus]
1. Chapter 1

Crimson Ribbon

Summary: A piece of crimson red ribbon, a link of a lifetime.

Warning(s): This is an **AU** **SasuSaku** story with **T-rating**. Characters are possibly **out of character**.

Author's Note(s): A romance story inspired by deviantart Crimson Ribbon by deviant artist, arriku. All in all, there will be seven scenes. Special thanks to kaoru-sama for proofreading.

Spoiler(s): Possibly spoiling the beginning of Naruto Shippuden - I forgot about the chapter's number.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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_Move, Sasuke! Faster!_

He inwardly chanted those words but his pace was decreasing and his jumps weren't that flexible anymore. All of a sudden, a sharp intense pain shot through all over his body, rendering him useless for a moment. However, he was in a mid-jump and Sasuke found himself falling to the ground below. His natural instinct failed to kick up as he hit the floor, the force of the hit sounding loud to his ears.

_Crash!_

The impact lasted long. Even when the adrenaline rush was over, he was still laying motionless on the brown earth, eyes unblinking. He let go of the breath he had unknowingly held. It was hurried and hitched fitfully when the pain returned, tenfold this time.

"Shit…" he managed through gritted teeth and his curled fingers bit into the fingerless gloved palms in a vain attempt to fight the pain. He had been careless, too complacent with the peaceful life he was leading now. He should have known Konoha wouldn't give up on him that easily despite the past three years of hiatus.

Looking through half-lidded eyes, he saw that the long strip of ribbon wound around his black leather-bound right arm had loosened. The sight of crimson red caused anguish tears to burn at the corner of his eyes.

She was waiting for him.

_Move it, Sasuke! You've got to get to her!_ He urged himself silently.

He tried moving his limbs but they were still numb from the fall. He slowly flexed his fingers and toes to test his mobility. Nothing was out of shape for now. Inhaling deeply, he moved himself to sit up in one fluid motion. Nausea hit him instantly at the sudden movement and he retched something liquid onto the ground beside him. The lack of food and limited fluid for two days by now and his untreated injuries had taken a toll on his wellbeing.

Feeling slightly better, he wiped the vomit away with the back of his sleeves before his hand moved down to touch the gaping hole at his side. It was too dark to see how big the wound was but he could feel blood flowing out freely like a burst tap. If it didn't stop soon, he would pass out due to excessive blood loss but time did not permit him to begin the basic healing jutsu. Hissing at the ever growing pain, Sasuke cursed under his breath when he felt the four chakras closing in on him.

There were a series of thuds and a voice boomed from his left.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you are surrounded! Surrender or we will be forced to kill you!"

The raven-haired man cocked his head upwards to see the four ANBU members crouching on the trees surrounding him. There were three men and one woman, all donning the same cat masks with red whiskers. Sasuke knew the one with blonde hair who had shouted at him with that boisterous loud voice; he was once a friend of his. Managing to smirk despite his situation, he feigned bravery as he shakily got up to his feet before taunting the blonde man and his colleagues, "You'll have to kill me then, Naruto."

"You—" Naruto sucked in a deep breath to control his temper. He could no longer comprehend his friend anymore. When Sasuke first left their village in search of power, Naruto understood the reason behind his actions – to kill his brother in spite of how wrong the decision had been. Now that Sasuke had finally avenged his clan, he still refused to return to the village. What other agenda did Sasuke have which they had yet to know?

Regardless of what Sasuke planned to do now, Naruto would drag him back, _alive_, to Konoha even if he had to pound him to within an inch of his life.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Naruto focused on the wounded man. Minutely, he regretted using the _Oodama_ _Rasengan_ on his friend but it was inevitable when Sasuke was charging at him with a brilliantly-lit _Chidori_. His right arm twitched in pain – an after-effect of overusing his jutsu. He did not doubt Sasuke was feeling the same albeit much worst since he was hit and judging by the amount of blood pooling around the raven-haired man's feet, Sasuke was severely weakened. How he could still stand straight left Naruto wondering.

Sasuke watched them tense as he tightened the ribbon around his right arm. They weren't attacking him yet, probably giving him a chance to rethink of his decision.

He wasn't ready to die albeit in his state, it seemed probable. Sasuke unconsciously exerted more than necessary force as roseate hair and jade eyes appeared at the back of his mind.

She was still waiting for him.

_Akiramenaide…_

He tightened the knot with resolution.

Shifting his focus to the blue-eyed ninja, Sasuke gave him a malicious grin. His onyx eyes bleed red while his left hand began to unsheathe his chokuto.

Naruto growled at Sasuke's stubbornness.

"You ask for this, teme!"

"Hn."

Signaling to the other three who nodded in return, Naruto gave a roar of battle and the four ANBUs jumped down at Sasuke at once.

He wouldn't give up. So were they.

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	2. Chapter 2

Crimson Ribbon

Author's Note(s): Thanks for the reviews. This is an exceptionally short chapter. The next scene will take a longer time to be posted. Please **take the warnings seriously. **This is an **AU** story i.e. anything can happen. Sakura is not from Konoha. Special thanks to _kaoru-sama_ for proofreading.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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_Two hundred kilometers to the west…_

Nimble fingers started to tug hard on the sleeves of her kimono which she had been playing with for the past hour. Pink eyebrows nearly met as she searched the surrounding futilely for the familiar figure of her beloved, worry etched on her face.

He had never been this late.

One grim thought came to her mind but she quickly pushed it away. He won't be caught. He was the strongest man _and_ shinobi she had ever met. He had proven it to her more than once. But, still…

_Stop it!_ she reprimanded herself. She must have faith in him like how he had entrusted his life to her.

The sky was a blanket of purple black, signaling the beginning of a new day.

Inwardly, Sakura knew she had less than an hour to get back to the village before the maid noticed she was missing and alerted the guards. Despite it all, she would take the risk. She would wait for him. Her hand caressed the spot below her obi as she smiled. There was something important she had to tell him.

Careful to avoid disheveling her kimono, she settled herself at the bottom of the oak tree and leaned back slightly against the trunk. The solitary tree was perched at the edge of a cliff with a view of the vast of greenery below - the free man's land.

Although it was a mass of black now, Sakura found her thoughts wandering away.

Sasuke had once told her - at the edge of the green, beyond the obstructing Seiryuu Mountain were the deep blue sea. She had never seen one before. The stories Sasuke told only served to entice her to see it with her own eyes.

Sakura's heart yearned for the day she could step out of this prison, hand in hand with the man she loved. Closing her eyes, she imagined the water to be of the color of the dark blue of Sasuke's yukata. She conjured a mental image of the both of them running along a sandy beach as gentle waves rushed to lap at their feet. Then, another pair of tiny feet would join them.

_Soon, Sakura… soon._

The three years was almost over.

She lifted her hand and touched the oak tree behind her. Feeling the roughness of the bark against her fingers, a half smile crept onto her face as memories were revisited.

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